1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereoscopic video viewing limiter and limitation method, a stereoscopic video viewing limitation notifying device and method, a video viewing apparatus and method, and a video viewing system. In particular, the invention relates to apparatus and methods for limiting stereoscopic video viewing in such a way that a plurality of viewers who watch the same stereoscopic video display simultaneously can do so according to their individual stereoscopic viewing tolerances.
2. Description of the Related Art
A stereoscopic video viewing environment in which a stereoscopic effect is created by alternate display of right-eye and left-eye images with parallax on a two-dimensional screen is known to produce fatigue, unease, or motion sickness in some viewers. There is also concern about the effects of stereoscopic video on children's physiological development.
Addressing these problems, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-270924 (paras. 0071 to 0085) discloses a method for numerizing the effects of different factors on the viewer and reducing the resolution of parts of the video display or skipping parts of the video display as necessary to avoid adverse effects.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-165708 (paras. 0056 to 0069) discloses a method of switching from stereoscopic video display to two-dimensional video display when a situation that may have significant effects on the viewer persists for an extended time.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-135686 (paras. 0056 to 0069) discloses a method of processing a stereoscopic video image so as to reduce the effects on the viewer to a tolerable level and recording the processed video on a recording medium.
When stereoscopic video content is viewed by a plurality of people simultaneously, the above disclosures provide the same stereoscopic video image to all the viewers. The problem with these methods is that they force all viewers to accept a level of stereoscopic effect suited for the viewer with the lowest stereoscopic tolerance level.